Case Study

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The Case for Rare Technical Skills

A post-doctoral researcher with expertise in advanced molecular biology techniques retained us to prepare his green card application in the Extraordinary Ability category. To the untrained eye, his case was not an obvious choice for this classification.

With only one first-author publication, five presentations and few citations to his findings, it was not immediately evident that his qualifications were above the norm in his field. Despite these challenges, we worked closely with him to contextualize his research accomplishments in a clear and persuasive manner for USCIS. Rather than focus on some of the more obvious criteria, we instead chose to emphasize his rare technical skills, arguing that these unique skills facilitated, and were in fact critical to, several important discoveries made in his field. Thanks to this detailed and convincing argument, his case was approved within eight months. He is now a U.S. permanent resident.